The battlefield may have been silent now, but something darker stirred beneath its ashes.
It all began just a few days earlier—
---
Yuji Kazehaya stood beneath the massive gate of Sector 454, the elite barracks where only the newly accepted ADM Corps recruits were allowed. The gate was forged from crystallized EB steel, humming faintly as if whispering the secrets of every soul that passed through.
This was it. A new beginning.
The crowd of selected recruits stood straight in formation under the dying sun. Commander Xian stood before them on a raised platform, his coat fluttering like wings of judgment.
"Listen well, Grade 1 soldiers," he barked. "You are now property of the ADM Corps. Each of you has received an ADM Gear. A ring. No more, no less. It is your soul, your identity, your curse."
Yuji clutched the dull, gray-black ring wrapped around his finger. It pulsed faintly, but it hadn't shown any abilities since the test. Still, something inside it felt... alive.
"Every ring must be charged with 10 EBs—Energy Bottles—to stay functional for five days. Fail to recharge? Your ring will deactivate, leaving you defenseless."
The crowd remained still, absorbing the gravity.
"Now understand this: the world you thought you knew is a lie. There are five nations—Zeyrus your home, sarenya, Verin, marina, and Kaidu Each controls one core of two elements. They're not allies. They are devils cloaked in righteousness. And they want what we have."
The screen behind Xian flickered to life, showing the Vein-37 site—an EB mining ground now overrun by enemies.
"Every nation has 10 Veins connected to their elemental Core. Except us. Zeyrus has over 50. That's why they want us erased. You four," he pointed to Yuji, Aika, Hakiru, and Sagai, "are tasked with reclaiming Vein-37."
---
They sat around a long metal table in the Sector 454 mess hall.
The fluorescent lights hummed overhead. Trays of rationed food sat untouched.
"You're not eating?" asked a teasing voice.
Yuji looked up. A tall girl stood there, her short black hair swinging gently as she sat down across from him. Aika Miyawaki. Sharp eyes. Wind Element user. Already a 3-star prodigy. But she wasn't cold—at least not now. She grinned with a kind of mischievous joy, leaning her chin on her palm.
Yuji stared awkwardly, then mumbled, "Why is your hair a bit long?"
Aika blinked. Then smirked. "Long? Maybe you're just short. Or maybe… you've stared too much before."
Yuji turned away, cheeks burning.
Two more voices joined.
"He's adorable when he's shy!" said Sagai, the lightning element user. Slim, smiling, strangely friendly.
Hakiru, the ice element user, laughed and elbowed Yuji. "Ignore them. You've got us now. Brothers for life, right?"
Yuji felt a strange warmth. Real friends? Could he dare believe it?
"I don't remember anything before I was ten," Yuji admitted, voice small. "People hate me. I don't even know why. I just… want to be useful."
Sagai placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're with us now, bro. Doesn't matter where you came from. It's where you're going."
Aika looked away, hiding a softer expression. "Dumbass. Don't say that again."
Yuji smiled. For the first time in years.
MISSION: VEIN-37
The air in Vein-37 was foul. The corrupted EB vein hissed beneath the ground like a living thing, pulsing with unstable energy. A thick mist, tainted with dark elemental residue, coiled through the jagged rocks like a beast's breath. Flickering lights from half-broken lanterns cast long, twitching shadows against the tunnel walls.
The mission had just begun—and already, blood had been spilled.
Yuji Kazehaya dropped to one knee, gasping. His body trembled as pain raked through his ribs. Across the shattered cavern, bodies clashed in a whirl of element-imbued attacks. Wind blades, ice shards, and lightning strikes exploded through the air as the enemy squad surged forward like a pack of wolves.
They weren't random bandits. They were soldiers.
Enemy AMD Corps.
Aika Miyawaki moved like a phantom. Her tall frame blurred forward with supernatural speed, slicing down one opponent with a single graceful strike. Her blade shimmered with wind energy as she spun into a second attacker, slashing open their armor with ruthless precision.
Her voice was calm, but cold: "Stay close. Or die."
Hakiru and Sagai stood just behind her, one launching shards of jagged ice from his palm, the other discharging bursts of lightning in arcing lines. Their teamwork was flawless—almost too flawless.
Yuji's vision blurred. He stumbled again, clutching his black ring.
ADM Gear... why won't you work?
He looked down. The ring—dull, faintly glowing—remained still. His mind screamed for it to activate. Just one ability. Just one spark of power.
"Yuji!" someone called.
He barely turned before a burning spear of flame hurtled toward him.
In a blink, Aika was in front of him. She didn't hesitate.
Her sword danced.
The flaming attack split in two as her wind-imbued slash tore through it. Sparks exploded against the tunnel walls. Then, with a step so fast it cracked the ground beneath her, Aika lunged toward the caster—a tall woman clad in blood-red armor—and slashed downward.
The enemy screamed.
Her body split at the waist, crashing lifeless to the dirt.
Yuji stared.
Aika turned back slowly, her teal eyes meeting his. Her expression didn't change—still cold, still unreadable. But her voice dropped low.
"Stop freezing up. You'll get us all killed."
Hakiru laughed from the side, sending another enemy flying with a barrage of ice.
she is strong. Hakiru said.
Sagai smirked beside him. "You could've saved a piece of her for me."
Aika rolled her eyes. "Perverts."
They were smiling. Joking. In the middle of blood and fire.
Yuji felt small. Weak. Useless.
But then—
Something tugged at him.
A faint vibration from the ground. He looked down and saw it—a strange Energy Bottle. Not blue, like normal EBs. This one was pitch black, glowing with a subtle purple fog.
It pulsed.
A whisper stirred in his mind.
> "There. I'm hungry. Feed me."
His eyes widened.
"What... was that?"
No one noticed.
He took a step toward the black EB, as if drawn by invisible chains. His hand reached out slowly—hesitantly. As his fingers brushed the bottle, his black ADM Gear ring flared to life.
FWOOM.
as his ring suddenly absorbed that black EB. Yuji turned behind. What was that AIKA ASKED.
END OF CHAPTER 5